a Brief History of Vieques

I recently took a trip to the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. The island, commonly reffered to as "the isla nena" (the littel girl), is 7 miles from the main island of Puerto Rico. It has become one of my new favorite places in the world. It has some of the most secluded and beautiful beaches I have ever experienced. There are plently of ex-pat gringos who call the island home and reggae-loving locals who are truly "island people".

The name Vieques comes from the Taino Indian work for small island -- Bieque. And that is exactly how the word is pronounced by Puerto Ricans. The the "s" is silent.

Vieques was originally inhabited by Taino Indians, and it was the last stronghold of the Taino people. Early in the 16th century, Taino chiefs set off for the main island to liberate captured Tainos from Cabo Rojo. They we successful in thier attack and continued on to Loiza, where they were defeated by the Spanish. The Spanish must have felt threated by the small defeat at Cabo Rojo, because they quickly mounted a full scale attack on Vieques, and decimated the Taino population to such a degree that they never recovered. Althouth today there are some people who claim Taino decent, there are no full-blooded Tanio still in existence. Apparently, the Spanish rival the Americans at be really good at wiping people out.

For more on the history of Viques visit: http://www.elenas-vieques.com/history.html

Eventually, the island became